University of Massachusets Athletics
Friday, October 26
Amherst, Mass.
7 P.M.
University of Massachusetts
4-1-0, 1-0-0HEA
5
vs
1
Merrimack
2-4-0, 1-1-0HEA
1
2
3
F
Merrimack
0
0
1
1
Massachusetts
2
1
2
5
Photo by: THOM KENDALL FOR UMASS ATHLETICS
#16 Hockey Skates Past Merrimack, 5-1
October 26, 2018 | Hockey
The Minutemen won their Hockey East opener on the back of multi-point performances from Leonard, Boeing and Chaffee.
AMHERST, Mass. – No. 16 University of Massachusetts hockey continued its hot start to the season by opening Hockey East play with a 5-1 victory over Merrimack at the Mullins Center on Friday night. The Minutemen (4-1-0, 1-0-0 HEA) built a 4-0 lead before the Warriors (2-4-0, 1-1-0 HEA) spoiled the shutout bid in the third and capped the scoring with their first shorthanded goal of the season.
"Obviously very happy with the outcome and the score, but I thought we were sloppy tonight," said UMass head coach Greg Carvel. "I thought we were fortunate that Merrimack didn't expose us and a lot of the poor puck decisions and turnovers in the neutral zone. [Matt] Murray, I think that was the best game he's played here at UMass, I thought he was outstanding tonight. He made a lot of big saves look really easy. Fortunately, our special teams were strong again and our goaltending was excellent. As we talked about all year, those are the three areas where we wanted to be better."
Senior Jacob Pritchard put UMass on the board with a power-play goal 6:30 into the contest, carrying the puck out of the corner and firing a shot that found its way underneath Merrimack netminder Craig Pantano. Sophomores John Leonard and Mitchell Chaffee earned the assists on the play.
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UMass withstood 1 minute, 37 seconds of a 5-on-3 penalty kill midway through the frame before senior Brett Boeing gave the squad a two-goal edge heading into the intermission. Sophomore Cale Makar won the puck off the wall and gave it to junior Niko Hildenbrand who sent a pass up the ice to Boeing for the scorching tally at 18:31.
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Leonard added the lone goal of the second period to push the lead to 3-0. After receiving the puck from junior Jack Suter and freshman Ty Farmer, he drove to the slot for a quick strike 16:22 into the frame.
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Just 1:45 into the third, freshman Marc Del Gaizo increased the advantage to 4-0, knocking the puck in off Pantano from below the goal line off a feed from Chaffee and Leonard.
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Merrimack's only tally of the night came at the 6:39 mark. Sophomore Matt Murray denied Laine McKay on the breakaway, but Matt McArdle trailed the play and put home the rebound.
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Boeing then added his second of the night 12:08 into the third with the Minutemen killing a five-minute major against Makar. Sophomore Jake Gaudet stripped a Warriors player of the puck, sending it ahead to Boeing who completed the partial break with a backhand over Pantano.
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UMass finished with a 29-27 edge in shots and went 2-for-5 on the power play while holding Merrimack to a 0-for-6 night with the man advantage. Murray made 26 saves en route to his third win (3-0-0) of the season, while Pantano had 24 stops for the Warriors.
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Ten Minutemen found their way onto the scoresheet in the contest, led by a three-point performance from Leonard on a goal and two assists, tying a single game career high. Boeing posted his first multi-goal effort of his collegiate career and now has nine points (5g, 4a) in his last nine games, dating back to the end of the 2017-18 campaign. Chaffee chipped in with two helpers, his second multi-point game of the season and eighth of his career as he now has six points in five games to start 2018-19.
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UMass and Merrimack will be back in action tomorrow, Oct. 27, completing the home-and-home in North Andover with a 7 p.m. start.
"Obviously very happy with the outcome and the score, but I thought we were sloppy tonight," said UMass head coach Greg Carvel. "I thought we were fortunate that Merrimack didn't expose us and a lot of the poor puck decisions and turnovers in the neutral zone. [Matt] Murray, I think that was the best game he's played here at UMass, I thought he was outstanding tonight. He made a lot of big saves look really easy. Fortunately, our special teams were strong again and our goaltending was excellent. As we talked about all year, those are the three areas where we wanted to be better."
Senior Jacob Pritchard put UMass on the board with a power-play goal 6:30 into the contest, carrying the puck out of the corner and firing a shot that found its way underneath Merrimack netminder Craig Pantano. Sophomores John Leonard and Mitchell Chaffee earned the assists on the play.
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UMass withstood 1 minute, 37 seconds of a 5-on-3 penalty kill midway through the frame before senior Brett Boeing gave the squad a two-goal edge heading into the intermission. Sophomore Cale Makar won the puck off the wall and gave it to junior Niko Hildenbrand who sent a pass up the ice to Boeing for the scorching tally at 18:31.
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Leonard added the lone goal of the second period to push the lead to 3-0. After receiving the puck from junior Jack Suter and freshman Ty Farmer, he drove to the slot for a quick strike 16:22 into the frame.
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Just 1:45 into the third, freshman Marc Del Gaizo increased the advantage to 4-0, knocking the puck in off Pantano from below the goal line off a feed from Chaffee and Leonard.
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Merrimack's only tally of the night came at the 6:39 mark. Sophomore Matt Murray denied Laine McKay on the breakaway, but Matt McArdle trailed the play and put home the rebound.
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Boeing then added his second of the night 12:08 into the third with the Minutemen killing a five-minute major against Makar. Sophomore Jake Gaudet stripped a Warriors player of the puck, sending it ahead to Boeing who completed the partial break with a backhand over Pantano.
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UMass finished with a 29-27 edge in shots and went 2-for-5 on the power play while holding Merrimack to a 0-for-6 night with the man advantage. Murray made 26 saves en route to his third win (3-0-0) of the season, while Pantano had 24 stops for the Warriors.
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Ten Minutemen found their way onto the scoresheet in the contest, led by a three-point performance from Leonard on a goal and two assists, tying a single game career high. Boeing posted his first multi-goal effort of his collegiate career and now has nine points (5g, 4a) in his last nine games, dating back to the end of the 2017-18 campaign. Chaffee chipped in with two helpers, his second multi-point game of the season and eighth of his career as he now has six points in five games to start 2018-19.
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UMass and Merrimack will be back in action tomorrow, Oct. 27, completing the home-and-home in North Andover with a 7 p.m. start.
Team Stats
MER
UMASS
Shots
27
29
PPG
0
2
SHG
0
1
Penalties
5
6
Penalty Mins
10
15
Faceoffs Won
29
38
Game Leaders
Skaters
+/-
+2
Goals
1
Sh
1
A
2
+/-
+3
Goals
2
Sh
2
A
0
+/-
-1
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
2
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
4
A
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Hockey
F
/ Hockey
D
/ Hockey
F
/ Hockey
F
/ Hockey
F
/ Hockey
D
/ Hockey
G
/ HockeyF
/ Hockey
F
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